Are earthquake fears shaking you and your wood floors up?

Living in California, especially SoCal where the San Andreas Fault runs near Los Angeles, clients and people alike have learned to live with earthquakes as the norm out here. However, for some clients who own property, the ever-looming presence of a major, damaging earthquake is a real concern. Even if your concern is mostly just about possible damage and no major catastrophes, it’s important to be informed about any possible dangers to your wood floors. In this article we’ll be exploring various problems and solutions to various situations that can come about from earthquakes. As usual, the Hardwood Heroes at Century Custom Hardwood Floors is here to guide you through all of it.

How Earthquakes can damage your wood floor

Earthquakes, by definition, are simply tremors that originate along a fault line in the earth, and cause the ground to move back and forth. The magnitude of an earthquake determines how severe and damaging it is; the MMS scale ranges from 1 to any higher number, although most don’t go above 7 or 8. Quakes in the 3 or 4 range are minor, and can even be attributed to a drunken stupor. Tremors in the 5 or 6 ranges can damage structures that aren’t built to withstand earthquakes, things like sheds and pools can be destroyed. Earthquakes in the 7 or 8 range can demolish entire blocks and cripple the infrastructure of major cities; only the strongest and well-built buildings will survive, but not unharmed. 9 or 10’s can destroy entire cities and towns. The danger zone for wood floors is a quake 4 and above. Hardwood Floors that are improperly installed can be damaged by the vibrations that happen, though the damage may be minor, like buckling in certain areas. Basically, the shifting tectonic plates will shake the floor, and an improperly installed floor will have it slabs/planks separate with all of the movement. Magnitude 6 can damage even well-installed floors with major buckling and denting. 7 and above will damage any kind of floor, and probably the property itself.

How to take precautionary measures for earthquakes

The good news is that damaging earthquakes don’t happen very often, even in California. The bad news is that there’s very little you can do to prevent damage from major ones. For starters, always have your wood floors installed or repaired by qualified professionals, professionals like Century Custom Hardwood Floors of Los Angeles. We have experience installing and repairing all kinds of solid, engineered or laminate wood flooring, as well as all kinds of damage. In addition to this, all new construction projects in California are built specifically to withstand mid-magnitude earthquakes, so try to live in newer buildings if possible.

Real-life examples and testimonyHere are a few examples that can support the claims and information we’ve provided in the previous paragraphs.

Mike from Hollywood, FL says “There was a pretty significant earthquake here around 1976 or thereabouts. My hardwood floors were rippling before my eyes.” Mike experienced a phenomenon known as liquefaction, which causes the ground to look as though it was a liquid with rippling waves. This only happens with upper-level earthquakes, and it can demolish your floors if it happens long enough.

Jenny from Los Angeles, CA says“During the Northridge quake, thankfully we weren’t in the home at the time, but we got a look at it after. The roof had collapsed and the floor was in shambles.”The 1994 Northridge earthquake in California is one of the biggest on record, and it caused millions of dollars in damage and caused several fatalities as well.

How Century Floors can help you recover after an earthquake

If you’re conscious about the dangers earthquakes can pose to your property and floors, then come on down to Century Floors. We’re a local wood flooring company based in the heart of LA that’s been serving the local community for over 25 years, and we’re still going strong. We’re experts in all kinds of wood flooring projects, from installation to refinishing to floor repair. We’ve even dealt with a few cases of earthquake damage, and in the end the floor looked like nothing happened. We’re dedicated to solving and repairing any problem you may encounter with wood flooring. We base our business on excellent client service, beautiful floors and affordable pricing. Even our flooring technicians are experts with wood flooring, each having years of wood flooring experience under their belts. In fact, we’re so dedicated to giving our clients a great experience that we guarantee their satisfaction 100%.

Contact us today and don’t hesitate, or else you might just regret it. Our office staff would be more than happy to speak with you about our services, policies and qualifications. We can also arrange an appointment for you with our estimator, free of charge or obligation, at your convenience. When you need the best in wood flooring, and you want to make sure it won’t be budged by a few tremors, then call Century Custom Hardwood Floors. We do installation in Los Angeles, hardwood refinishing in Beverly Hills, wood floor repair in Pasadena, and any service you can think of anywhere in Southern California. Call us now, you’ll be happy you did.